Impacted by words; ‘The Language Archive’ opens tonight at Riverland
Published 11:00 am Wednesday, February 22, 2017
- George (Dathen Johnson), right, and his lab assistant, Emma (Nora Curtis), background, listen to the marriage issues between Alta (Paulina Aguirre Quijano), foreground and Resten (Adam Shehata), right, seated, in the production of “The Language Archive,” which opens tonight at Riverland Community College’s Frank W. Bridges Theater. Photos by Deb Nicklay/deb.nicklay@austindailyherald.com
The impact of words — as well as not being able to express them — is at the heart of The Language Archive,” a play being presented by Riverland Community College theatre department Feb. 22-26 at the Frank W. Bridges Theater.
Theater director Lindsey Duoos Williams said the play, written by Julia Cho, is “very heartwarming.”
“It is contemporary — and very relatable,” she added.
“We try to do a range of material every year,” Williams said. “This will definitely give students a new experience.”
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday; and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The production is directed by Susan V. Hansen.
Mary (Glynnis Kunkel-Ruiz) and George (Dathen Johnson) discuss a mysterious note during “The Language Archive” which opens tonight at Riverland Community College Frank W. Bridges Theater.
The play focuses on George, played by Dathen Johnson, a man whose livelihood is preserving and documenting dying languages.
Closer to home, however, he cannot use his own language to ask his wife Mary, portrayed by Glynnis Kunkel-Ruiz, not to leave him and he doesn’t recognize the feelings his lab assistant, Emma, played by Nora Curtis, has for him.
“I read it, and fell in love with it; Susan read it and fell in love with it,” Williams said. “It’s not a play whose name you recognize, but that should not keep anyone away. It is very funny, very moving.”
Alta (Paulina Aguirre Quijano) discusses marriage during the production of “The Language Archive” which opens tonight at Riverland Community College Frank W. Bridges Theater.
“We use different ‘languages’ with different people,” says Hansen. “If that relationship disintegrates, that language, that culture, dies. On a grander scale, the linguist, George says, ‘There are sixty nine hundred languages in the world. More than half are expected to die in the next century. When we say a language dies, we are talking about a whole world, a whole way of life. It is the death of imagination, of memory.’ “
The play presents new experience for students, Williams said. The material provides one; the environment brings another.
For the first time, the department is mounting the play in the round, with the audience sitting on four sides, to the edges of the stage.
Mary (Glynnis Kunkel-Ruiz) decides to leave when the lack of communication in her marriage finally defeats her during “The Language Archive” which opens at Riverland Community College tonight.
“It makes the play very intimate, and puts the audience very close to the artists,” Williams said. “It is a first for us.”
Tickets can by purchased online, 24 hours a day, at www.riverland.edu/tickets; or by calling the box office from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, and one hour before showtime, at 507-433-0595. Tickets are $13 to the general public; Riverland students may get two free tickets with a student ID.
